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Grizzlies at 5-0 host Kings at 0-5, only the second such game since 2004-05, and 29 of 30 teams that started 5-0 made the playoffs
Memphis is 5-0 and Sacramento is 0-5, and they meet Saturday. Since 2004-05 only one other game matched a 5-0 team with an 0-5 team, 29 of 30 teams that started 5-0 made the playoffs, and only four of 38 that started 0-5 did.
In this article
Memphis is 5-0. Sacramento is 0-5. On Saturday night they play each other at FedExForum, and that kind of game almost never happens this early in a season.
We went through every regular-season game since 2004-05, the first season with 30 teams, using league schedules, and checked the results against Basketball-Reference team game logs. Since then, a team that was 5-0 or better has played a team that was 0-5 or worse exactly once. Before that, we checked what a 5-0 or 0-5 start has meant for the rest of a season. One of those numbers is close to a guarantee. The other is close to the opposite.
The numbers that stand out
- Saturday’s Kings-Grizzlies game is only the second meeting since 2004-05 between a team that is 5-0 or better and a team that is 0-5 or worse. The first was on Nov. 2, 2025, when the 6-0 Thunder beat the 0-5 Pelicans 137-106
- Of the 30 teams that started 5-0 since 2004-05, 29 made the playoffs. The only exception is last season’s Bulls, who finished 31-51
- All 20 teams that started 6-0 made the playoffs. Houston can join that group with a win in Dallas on Friday
- Of the 38 teams that started 0-5, four made the playoffs. Of the 24 that started 0-6, only one did: the 2004-05 Bulls
- Memphis is 5-0 for the first time since 2014-15, when it started 6-0 and won 55 games. Two seasons ago, it started 0-6
- Sacramento is 0-5 for the first time since 2019-20, and it has been outscored by 16.6 points a game, the worst margin in the league
What a start has meant since 2004-05
| Start | Teams | Made the playoffs | Rate | Average wins per 82 games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-0 or better | 20 | 20 | 100% | 57.8 |
| 5-0 or better | 30 | 29 | 96.7% | 56.6 |
| 4-0 or better | 59 | 51 | 86.4% | 51.9 |
| 3-0 or better | 100 | 77 | 77.0% | 48.6 |
| 0-3 or worse | 105 | 27 | 25.7% | 32.7 |
| 0-4 or worse | 58 | 10 | 17.2% | 28.7 |
| 0-5 or worse | 38 | 4 | 10.5% | 27.0 |
| 0-6 or worse | 24 | 1 | 4.2% | 25.4 |
Regular seasons 2004-05 through 2025-26. Play-in teams that reached the first round count as playoff teams. Wins are scaled to 82 games for the shortened 2011-12, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The fifth win matters more than the fourth
A 4-0 start is a good sign, but it has not been a safe one. Of the 59 teams that started 4-0 since 2004-05, eight missed the playoffs. The 29 teams that lost their fifth game made the playoffs 22 times, a rate of 75.9%. The 30 that won it made the playoffs 29 times.
The 5-0 teams have also gone deep. Seven of the 30 won the title: the 2007-08 Celtics, the 2008-09 Lakers, the 2011-12 Heat, the 2014-15 Warriors, the 2018-19 Raptors, the 2023-24 Celtics and the 2024-25 Thunder. Five more reached the Finals and lost, including last season’s Spurs.
The one 5-0 team that missed is recent. Chicago won its first five games last season, lost four of its next five and finished 31-51. Before that, the worst finish by a 5-0 team in this period was 44-38, by the 2010-11 Hawks.
Video: NBA / X. Memphis beat Portland 124-103 on Thursday to start 5-0, with rookie Cameron Boozer recording 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
Memphis and Houston
Memphis has outscored opponents by 12.0 points a game and has won four of its five games on the road. Saturday is its second home game of the season, and it is a rematch: Memphis won 123-112 in Sacramento on Oct. 25. Boozer’s triple-double on Thursday made him the second-youngest player in NBA history to record one, at 19 years and 103 days old, according to the league.
This start is a sharp turn from two seasons ago. The 2023-24 Grizzlies lost their first six games and finished 27-55. The 2014-15 team, the last Memphis team to start 5-0, won its first six before losing, and finished 55-27.
Houston, also 5-0, plays at Dallas on Friday and hosts Oklahoma City on Saturday. The Rockets have the best scoring margin of the two unbeaten teams at plus-14.2 a game. A win on Friday would give them their first 6-0 start since 2014-15. Every one of the 20 teams that started 6-0 since 2004-05 made the playoffs, and they averaged 57.8 wins per 82 games.
Sacramento and the 0-5 teams
Sacramento has given up 126.8 points a game, second most in the league behind Chicago, and lost 132-120 in New Orleans on Thursday as the Pelicans won for the first time. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had 34 points and 14 assists in that loss. The Kings are 0-5 for the first time since 2019-20, when they finished 31-41 in the shortened season and missed the playoffs.
Most 0-5 teams do not recover. The 38 since 2004-05 averaged 27.0 wins per 82 games, and 18 of them won 25 or fewer. Only four made the playoffs:
| Season | Team | Start | Final record | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Chicago | 0-9 | 47-35 | Lost in first round |
| 2007-08 | Washington | 0-5 | 43-39 | Lost in first round |
| 2020-21 | Washington | 0-5 | 34-38 | Through the play-in, lost in first round |
| 2022-23 | LA Lakers | 0-5 | 43-39 | Through the play-in, reached the West finals |
The best record by a 0-5 team that missed the playoffs was 48-34, by the 2007-08 Warriors, who lost their first six games and finished ninth in the West.
The only other 5-0 against 0-5 game
Last season’s version went the way the records said it would. Oklahoma City, 6-0 at the time, beat New Orleans 137-106 at home on Nov. 2, 2025. The Thunder finished 64-18. The Pelicans, who started 0-6, finished 26-56.
With a lower bar, the results have been less predictable. In the 18 games since 2004-05 between a team that was 3-0 or better and a team that was 0-3 or worse, the unbeaten team won 10 and the winless team won eight.
What to watch
Brooklyn, 0-4, hosts Detroit on Friday. A loss would make the Nets the second 0-5 team of the season. Houston can reach 6-0 in Dallas on Friday before facing the Thunder on Saturday. Then the Kings visit the Grizzlies on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Memphis trying to match the 6-0 start of 2014-15 and Sacramento trying to avoid becoming the 25th team since 2004-05 to start 0-6.
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